 |
Book a demoLet a friendly Gnomen expert answer all of your questions and take you through the system online in 15 minutes. Just choose a time that suits you. |
|
Book a demoLet a friendly Gnomen expert answer all of your questions and take you through the system online in 15 minutes. Just choose a time that suits you. |
 |
Montana HBusiness Development Director
|
The woes of the high street retail sector have been well documented, with major names such as Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Debenhams announcing store closures, while the likes of Maplin and Toys R Us have gone out of business altogether.
Some 21,000 retail workers lost their jobs in the first three months of 2018 alone as the high street struggled against the growth of online shopping, dwindling consumer confidence, Brexit uncertainty and an unpredictable economic climate.
Now an insolvency firm has warned that the estate agency industry could be in danger of going a similar way. Moore Stephens has claimed that 153 agents have gone bust in the past year, while more than 7,000 exhibit 'signs of financial distress'.
Moore Stephens points to Foxtons, which recently reported a 15% fall in revenue in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2017, and Countrywide's tumbling share price as evidence to back up its claims that the sector is in a precarious position.
The rise of online agencies (who have fewer fixed costs than traditional operators) is helping to worsen the position of traditional agencies, according to Moore Stephens, while the upcoming ban on letting agent fees charged to tenants – set to be introduced in the spring of 2019 – is also set to hurt the profits of many agencies and make income even more marginal.
Chris Marsden, restructuring partner at Moore Stephens, said insolvencies of high street agents are on the increase as online competition continues to chip away at their market share and affect commission rates.
He added that some parts of the UK appeared to have a surplus of estate agents. By reaching excess capacity, the knock-on effect is that there is not enough business to go around as property transactions stagnate or fall.
Marsden advised estate agents operating under a traditional model to see whether they could lower overheads and review what they are offering to compete in the current marketplace.
There have also been calls for agents to diversify, and embrace PropTech solutions, to help them stand out from the crowd.
It's not all doom and gloom, of course. There are still many agents doing a roaring trade, batting off tough conditions, new regulation and Brexit uncertainty and taking a business as usual approach. It's also true that the property industry has been one of the most robust in recent years, finding ways to thrive in difficult circumstances.
However, it is the case that the market is currently a tough one for agents, particularly those operating in London and the South East where prices and transactions are falling.
To reduce your chances of becoming one of the statistics outlined above, there are things you can do to improve your offerings to clients. One of these is ensuring you have the best property software and website in town.
At Gnomen we can provide exactly that, with our all-in-one, cloud-based system helping you to grow your business. In a difficult market, it's more important than ever that you're on top of your call-backs, diary, valuations and instructions, as well as keeping tabs on your staff, customers and offices at the click of a button.
Customer support and communication is vital if you want to offer a bespoke, better-than-the competition service, which is where our tailored log-in areas for buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants come in handy.
We also know, in this day and age, the huge importance of an attractive, user-friendly website. With increasing competition from online operators, a website that stands out from the crowd is a must. Our website design service can help you create the best possible site – fully optimised on all devices – with a range of cutting-edge features on offer.
For more information about what we can do for you, please get in touch with us on 0208 123 9019 or book a free demo here.
As a letting agent, it will help your cause if you know what tenants want, as you can then offer advice to your landlords on where they might want to be focusing their attentions when sourcing new tenants – or trying to keep existing ones in place.
There has been much debate in recent years around classing high-speed broadband as a utility, given its importance to the modern world and the smooth functioning of the UK's increasingly tech-led, digitised economy.
With 2020 nearly upon us, and the recent emphatic win by the Conservatives expected to provide some stability and certainty after years of the opposite.
Thanks to a fast-moving world, how we now communicate in all parts of life is very different to how we communicated even a decade ago.
It was recently revealed that reservation agreements – locking buyers and sellers into a deal to prevent fall-throughs and chains from collapsing – are to be trialled by some agencies and conveyancers in early 2020.
In one of the most ground-breaking industry announcements for many a year, the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working group finally released its 54-page document proposing root and branch reform of the agency industry in mid-July.
The recommendations of an independent review into selective licensing in the private rented sector were recently announced
The field of contenders to replace Theresa May as the next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister is being whittled down
For a robust property market functioning at its peak, demand needs to be high, supply needs to be steady and sales need to be going through on a regular basis.
We've looked in the past at the importance of protecting data and complying with new data protection legislation, and why a secure system is vital for agents in preventing money laundering and other suspicious activities from taking place.
Its been a long time coming, and has provoked plenty of debate criticism since Philip Hammond first put the proposals forward to ban letting fees in his November 2016 Autumn Statement, but the Tenant Fees Act finally comes into play on June 1.
As an agent, you want to sell and let as many homes as possible to enhance your business, boost your reputation and improve your profit margins. Leads from the portals play a crucial role in finding the right buyers and tenants for your
For estate and letting agents across the UK, the next few months are set to be challenging thanks to the introduction of the ban on letting agent fees charged to tenants and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit
It was recently revealed that new guidance has been issued by the Property Ombudsman (TPO) over what it labels a growing issue namely that of dual fees.
Agents have been accused of doing 'not nearly enough' to report money laundering, according to a claim made by the government's anti-money laundering campaign.
The cost of moving has hit a record high but agents fees have remain unchanged in the past year. Thats the main take home from an annual study of transaction charges by home moving site reallymoving.com.
For a while now, the government has talked a lot about speeding up the house buying process to benefit both buyers and sellers.
There is traditionally a post Christmas boom in housing activity, hitting a peak in February and March as buyers and sellers seek to push deals over the line.
A new year is now upon us, and there are a number of reasons for letting agents to embrace 2019 with a sense of positivity and optimism.
The government recently announced a U-turn on its plans to cap tenant deposits at six weeks rent, with the amount tenants have to pay upfront to secure a home now set to be cut to five weeks for
Follow Gnomen for the latest news.
